Sucrose-preferring gut microbes prevent host obesity by producing exopolysaccharides

Hidenori Shimizu, Junki Miyamoto, Keiko Hisa, Ryuji Ohue-Kitano, Hiromi Takada, Mayu Yamano, Akari Nishida, Daiki Sasahara, Yuki Masujima, Keita Watanabe, Shota Nishikawa, Sakura Takahashi, Takako Ikeda, Yuya Nakajima, Naofumi Yoshida, Chiaki Matsuzaki, Takuya Kageyama, Ibuki Hayashi, Akari Matsuki, Ryo Akashi, Seiichi Kitahama, Masako Ueyama, Takumi Murakami, Shinsuke Inuki, Junichiro Irie, Noriko Satoh-Asahara, Hirokazu Toju, Hiroshi Mori, Shinji Nakaoka, Tomoya Yamashita, Atsushi Toyoda, Kenji Yamamoto, Hiroaki Ohno, Takane Katayama, Hiroshi Itoh and Ikuo Kimura ()
Additional contact information
Hidenori Shimizu: Sakyo-ku
Junki Miyamoto: Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
Keiko Hisa: Muko-shi
Ryuji Ohue-Kitano: Sakyo-ku
Hiromi Takada: Sakyo-ku
Mayu Yamano: Sakyo-ku
Akari Nishida: Sakyo-ku
Daiki Sasahara: Sakyo-ku
Yuki Masujima: Sakyo-ku
Keita Watanabe: Sakyo-ku
Shota Nishikawa: Sakyo-ku
Sakura Takahashi: Sakyo-ku
Takako Ikeda: Sakyo-ku
Yuya Nakajima: Keio University, Shinjuku-ku
Naofumi Yoshida: National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Research Institute
Chiaki Matsuzaki: Ishikawa Prefectural University
Takuya Kageyama: Kyoto University
Ibuki Hayashi: Kyoto University
Akari Matsuki: Hokkaido University
Ryo Akashi: Hokkaido University
Seiichi Kitahama: Chibune General Hospital
Masako Ueyama: Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association
Takumi Murakami: Yata
Shinsuke Inuki: Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku
Junichiro Irie: Keio University, Shinjuku-ku
Noriko Satoh-Asahara: NHO Kyoto Medical Center
Hirokazu Toju: Kyoto University
Hiroshi Mori: Yata
Shinji Nakaoka: Hokkaido University
Tomoya Yamashita: Kobe University
Atsushi Toyoda: Yata
Kenji Yamamoto: Wakayama-shi
Hiroaki Ohno: Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku
Takane Katayama: Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku
Hiroshi Itoh: Keio University, Shinjuku-ku
Ikuo Kimura: Sakyo-ku

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract Commensal bacteria affect host health by producing various metabolites from dietary carbohydrates via bacterial glycometabolism; however, the underlying mechanism of action remains unclear. Here, we identified Streptococcus salivarius as a unique anti-obesity commensal bacterium. We found that S. salivarius may prevent host obesity caused by excess sucrose intake via the exopolysaccharide (EPS) –short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) –carbohydrate metabolic axis in male mice. Healthy human donor-derived S. salivarius produced high EPS levels from sucrose but not from other sugars. S. salivarius abundance was significantly decreased in human donors with obesity compared with that in healthy donors, and the EPS–SCFA bacterial carbohydrate metabolic process was attenuated. Our findings reveal an important mechanism by which host–commensal interactions in glycometabolism affect energy regulation, suggesting an approach for preventing lifestyle-related diseases via prebiotics and probiotics by targeting bacteria and EPS metabolites.

Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56470-0 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-56470-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56470-0

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().